Tel Aviv Review

This episode originally aired on Dec. 5th, 2014. Bismarck famously said that "politics is not an exact science" - but what if exact sciences were determined by politics? Prof. Ute Deichmann, a historian of science at Ben Gurion University of the Negev, tells host Gilad Halpern about the exchanges between Israeli and German scientists in the early years. The two countries have marked more than 50 years since the full normalization of diplomatic relations between them, and we enquire to what extent scientists paved the way. Receive extra segments, book discounts, and other patron-only perks by supporting the show on Patreon. Click to find out how a handful of dollars a month can help. This season of the Tel Aviv Review is made possible by The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, which promotes humanistic, democratic, and liberal values in the social discourse in Israel.

Mika Almog, journalist, screenwriter and author, discusses her new collection of short stories, Anticipation (ציפייה), compiling poignantly unremarkable characters and vignettes, rooted in the Israeli here and now. Receive extra segments, book discounts, and other patron-only perks by supporting the show on Patreon. Click to find out how a handful of dollars a month can help. This season of the Tel Aviv Review is made possible by The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, which promotes humanistic, democratic, and liberal values in the social discourse in Israel.  

Sasha Polakow-Suransky, deputy editor of Foreign Policy magazine, discusses his new book Go Back to Where You Came From: The Backlash Against Immigration and the Fate of Western Democracy. The book explores the confluence of circumstances that led to the rise of authoritarian populism in countries that were until recently believed to be robust liberal democracies.   Receive extra segments, book discounts, and other patron-only perks by supporting the show on Patreon. Click to find out how a handful of dollars a month can help. This season of the Tel Aviv Review is made possible by The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, which promotes humanistic, democratic, and liberal values in the social discourse in Israel.

Little to nothing has changed since the 19th century in the way ancient Jewish scriptures are analyzed and understood. Prof. Hindy Najman, professor of scriptural interpretation of the Bible at Oriel College, University of Oxford, is on a mission to eradicate outdated "Protestant" and "parochial" approaches to Bible criticism, and introduce contemporary approaches to the field. Receive extra segments, book discounts, and other patron-only perks by supporting the show on Patreon. Click to find out how a handful of dollars a month can help. This season of the Tel Aviv Review is made possible by The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, which promotes humanistic, democratic, and liberal values in the social discourse in Israel.

No one can forget the horrifying terror attack of 2001 when a suicide bomber killed 21 people, mostly teenage girls, at a Tel Aviv nightclub. But few remember the Palestinian pharmacist murdered in East Jerusalem shortly afterward in a possible revenge attack - whose family donated his heart to save a Jewish Israeli man's life. Rowan Somerville explores the parallel stories in Beat: The True Story of a Bomb and a Heart Transplant. This season of the Tel Aviv Review is made possible by The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, which promotes humanistic, democratic, and liberal values in the social discourse in Israel.

Defining corruption may be complicated, but people know it when they see it. Is there such a thing as a culture of corruption, or do people in some countries need bribes to survive? Ina Kubbe discusses "Corruption and Norms: Why Informal Rules Matter", co-edited with Annika Engelbert, to find out why corruption happens and what can be done about it. Any resemblance to actual persons, events or Israeli politicians is purely coincidental. This season of the Tel Aviv Review is made possible by The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, which promotes humanistic, democratic, and liberal values in the social discourse in Israel.

Sir Geoffrey Nice prosecuted one of the world's most notorious war criminals - Slobodan Milosevic, who escaped justice by dying before his verdict. In his book Justice for All and How to Achieve It , Nice provides a critical exploration of international justice and the courts designed to address the world's worst crimes. Can this system advance peace and deter atrocities, or is it mainly victor's justice? This season of the Tel Aviv Review is made possible by The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, which promotes humanistic, democratic, and liberal values in the social discourse in Israel.

And from that moment on, Linda Grant sets her cast of unlikely characters free - as much as possible in a TB clinic in 1950s London. The Dark Circle is her seventh novel. The protagonists are twin teens bursting with life, though they live in the space between collective death of the recent past and the shadow of death in the future, as patients. Yet Grant makes the period and the people come alive - and tells us how. This season of the Tel Aviv Review is made possible by The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, which promotes humanistic, democratic, and liberal values in the social discourse in Israel.

Ian Black, former Middle East editor of The Guardian newspaper, joins us live to discuss his new book Enemies and Neighbors: Arabs and Jews in Palestine and Israel 1917-2017, a comprehensive overview of an ongoing clash between two irreconcilable narratives. This season of the Tel Aviv Review is made possible by The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, which promotes humanistic, democratic, and liberal values in the social discourse in Israel.

Dr Kinneret Lahad, a senior lecturer in the Women and Gender Studies program at Tel Aviv University, discusses her book A Table for One: Re-Scheduling Singlehood and Time, proposing a welcome addition to the established feminist scholarship on family structures. This season of the Tel Aviv Review is made possible by The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, which promotes humanistic, democratic, and liberal values in the social discourse in Israel.

Gilead Sher, attorney and former Israel's chief negotiator, the head of the Center for Applied Negotiations at Tel Aviv University's Institute for National Security Studies, discusses his new co-edited book Negotiating in Times of Conflict, which offers a panorama of perspectives on how to overcome obstacles in peace negotiations. This season of the Tel Aviv Review is made possible by The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, which promotes humanistic, democratic, and liberal values in the social discourse in Israel.

Dr Nicholas John, assistant professor of communication at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, discusses his book The Age of Sharing, which traces the origins and analyzes the meanings of one of the principal markers of our contemporary digital culture. This season of the Tel Aviv Review is made possible by The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, which promotes humanistic, democratic, and liberal values in the social discourse in Israel.

Isabella Ginor and Gideon Remez, associate fellows at the Hebrew University's Truman Institute for the Advancement of Peace, discuss their book The Soviet-Israeli War 1967-1973: The USSR’s Military Intervention in the Egyptian-Israeli Conflict, which lays out a hitherto little known Soviet foreign policy in the Middle East following the humiliating defeat of Moscow's client states in the Six Day War. This season of the Tel Aviv Review is made possible by The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, which promotes humanistic, democratic, and liberal values in the social discourse in Israel.  

Steven Nadler, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, discusses the new graphic book Heretics! The Wonderous (and Dangerous) Beginnings of Modern Philosophy, which he co-authored with his son. He explains why the 17th century is a major turning point in the history of Western philosophy, and delves into the merits of graphic books. This season of the Tel Aviv Review is made possible by The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, which promotes humanistic, democratic, and liberal values in the social discourse in Israel.

Jonathan Israel, professor emeritus of modern European history at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, discusses his book Expanding Blaze: How the American Revolution Ignited the World, 1775-1848. This season of the Tel Aviv Review is made possible by The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, which promotes humanistic, democratic, and liberal values in the social discourse in Israel.

Dr. David Hirsh, a sociologist at Goldsmith's, University of London, discusses his new book Contemporary Left Antisemitism, analyzing the "mainstreaming" of anti-Jewish bigotry among socialist and so-called progressive circles.

Israeli-American novelist Dalia Rosenfeld discusses her new and critically-acclaimed book The Worlds We Think We Know, a collection of short stories, in many of which Tel Aviv is a silent protagonist. Rosenfeld's stories explore human beings' internal struggles, laying bare the contradictions that lie within us all. This season of the Tel Aviv Review is made possible by The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, which promotes humanistic, democratic, and liberal values in the social discourse in Israel.

Dr. Adel Manna, a historian of modern Palestine and senior fellow at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, discusses his new book, Nakba and Survival: The Story of the Palestinians who Remained in Haifa and the Galilee, 1948-1956. Dr. Manna talks about the circumstances that led Palestinians in parts of the Galilee to remain to a greater degree than elsewhere, why he decided to study and write about a seldom-discussed chapter of history, the story of the Palestinian Arab Communists, and how Palestinians in Israel survived as a marginalized people. This season of the Tel Aviv Review is made possible by The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, which promotes humanistic, democratic, and liberal values in the social discourse in Israel.

Prof. Susan Pedersen, a historian of Britain and Europe at Columbia University, discusses her most recent book The Guardians: The League of Nations and the Crisis of Empire. On the centenary of the Balfour Declaration, it is crucial to explore the British Mandate of Palestine in a broader context. This season of the Tel Aviv Review is made possible by The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, which promotes humanistic, democratic, and liberal values in the social discourse in Israel.

Dr. Raz Zimmt is the encyclopedia of policy analysis of Iran. From poring over social media conversations in Persian to analyzing statements, policy, and action of political leaders, his many papers and articles touch every topic. Today’s episode interviews him about Iran’s regional goals and foreign policy, the new and changing alliances of the Middle East, sectarian divides, and domestic politics. Find out what the Iranian public is saying about their leaders, why Hamas threw Iran for a loop, and what Iran thinks about Israel, the deal, and the bomb. This season of the Tel Aviv Review is made possible by The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, which promotes humanistic, democratic, and liberal values in the social discourse in Israel.